Fishing
Our
Lord said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
It is evident, then, that a true disciple is a soul-winner. It is possible to
sit on the shore discussing the signs of the times when we ought to be driven
by the signs of the times to launch out into the deep and let down our nets for
a draught. Vance Havner
Several weeks ago it was early afternoon on a Sunday and my
husband and I were sitting in the living room talking about what we could do
for the afternoon. I’m sure I surprised
my husband because I told him I wanted to go fishing. He looked at me funny and then I said, “I
want to take a rod and reel and stand on the bank of the lake and fish.” I asked him if he knew of a place where we
could do that. My real purpose was that fishing is soothing for me and I wanted to spend some time with God in nature. Water for me has always been relaxing, unless its leaking in my house.
For those of you who don’t know my husband,
he makes fishing an art. He has all
these terms for the lures that he uses.
My husband is creative in the area of fishing. There are Carolina rigs, spinner baits,
twitch baits, then there are poppers and triggers, finesse baits, jig heads and
drop shots, Crazy leg jigs and Dark Star swimmers, Scum frogs and the Frog
Brigade.
I’m a live bait kind of fisher-gal. Give me a worm, minnow, shrimp or cricket and
I’m good to go. A bobber or cork with a
hook and rod and reel and I’m there. All
those bass fishermen out there would be appalled at my idea of fishing. Have you ever gone to Bass Pro? There are aisles and aisles of different
kinds of fake baits in a rainbow of colors that are used to entice a fish.
As I thought about the variety of fishing
gizmos and gadgets that are available it made me think of our purpose. God
created us to be fishers of men. Fishing for men requires ingenuity. Every
person you interact with is not going to respond to the same kind of lure. The reason they make so many different kinds
of lures is because there are so many different kinds of fish. What works for one fish won’t work for
another. I think too many times we keep using
the same bait.
To become fishers of men we need to fill our
tackle box with different tools. If I
don’t know and understand scripture it’s like using a waterlogged worm to catch
fish. You will never get a bite. Also, if
I don’t understand that each individual is different, the approach I choose may
turn that person further away from God instead of drawing them nearer. Jesus
chose four fishermen to further the gospel. God doesn’t want any of us to
perish but it will take each of us taking up our cross and following Him to
become fishers of men.
Prayer for the Day:
Heavenly Father, you call each of us to be fishers of men. You blessed each of us with talents that
others don’t have. Help me to use the talents you gave me to become a fisher of
men. With Your Word, the Holy Spirit and
perseverance, I too can be what You created me to be. A soul winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment